


B&C PART TWO

by okay_pretender



Series: Circus Verse [1]
Category: Dreamer Trilogy - Maggie Stiefvater, Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Alternate Universe - Circus, Alternate Universe - Historical, Gen, Historical Inaccuracy, not sorry, this is really carliana and hella centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:01:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27254611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okay_pretender/pseuds/okay_pretender
Summary: Read Bread & Circuses first, this is the continuation.
Relationships: Carmen Farooq-Lane/Liliana, Helen Gansey/Orla, Henry Cheng/Richard Gansey III/Blue Sargent, Jordan/Declan Lynch, Joseph Kavinsky/Ronan Lynch, Richard Gansey III/Blue Sargent, Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Series: Circus Verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990003
Kudos: 1





	B&C PART TWO

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah. life's a mess rn, this is the rest of my 2020 TRC big bang fic

_ Lils, you were magnificent. You were always magnificent. I couldn’t have turned away if I tried. _

_ My love, you were terrified. But I appreciate the sentiment. _

Liliana’s pale face took on a warped appearance in the flickering candlelight. It lost its soft openness. Her cheeks sank in and her eyes glowed unnaturally bright. Carmen still felt the disconcerting tug to lean closer to her. It was that, more than anything, that unnerved her about the Visionary. It couldn’t be a side effect of proximity to her power. There had been no draw toward Parsifal. She didn’t want to ask if the other Moderators could feel it. It did her no good for them to be even more suspicious of her.

“The white candle represents spiritual energy and truth seeking. The purple one is for psychic power, and the blue one is to guide me. Ordinarily, I would only use one, but I’m scrying for specific details about dangerous forces. I need all the help I can get,” she laughed ruefully. She wasn’t showing fear, but maybe that was the purpose of her confidence. To hide it. She continued, “The brown candle represents grounding, presence on earth. That’s your job too- if I get too far in, I need you to pull me back.”

“How will I know you’re lost?” Carmen didn’t bother hiding her alarm. Liliana was used to this kind of work. Carmen was out of her depth. 

“Give me ten minutes after I slip under. If I don’t come out on my own, I need you to do it- shake me, use the knife, your nails, anything. I can die in there if my soul separates from my body for too long. But that won’t happen!” she finished brightly. 

Carmen blinked.

Liliana took a steadying breath.

She glanced at Carmen and tried for a reassuring smile, and then she looked into the basin and was gone. Her body went still, and Carmen realized how odd that was. She hadn’t noticed Liliana’s jiggling knee, searching eyes, tapping fingers until they’d all gone rigid, her every limb and extremity oriented toward the basin in the center of the circle. Carmen watched her, vigilant. 

A breeze fluttered through the room. The flames flickered. Liliana’s cards shifted on the dusty floor. Carmen shuddered.

Liliana was motionless.

“Any telegrams for Farooq-Lane?” She schooled her features into disinterest as the clerk shuffled papers behind the reception desk. 

“Just one. Here,” the clerk passed it over, equally disinterested, tapping it twice. The signal for urgency. 

Carmen read the message on the way back to the hotel room.  **Suspect involved with HEPCO stop. Will meet Market vendor at 18:00 tmrw in Wall Drug stop. Intercept stop. R and N to join stop. No need for L stop.**

Declan wasn’t looking at her. He kept his hands in his pockets. “You’ll meet Carmen Farooq-Lane at Wall Drug at six o’clock. She thinks you’re the Market vendor going to meet her. The agency employing her believes she’s going to meet Kavinsky. You’re going to give her all the same names they did. We don’t think they latched onto your appearance, nor that they can connect you to Hennessy. You’re going as Jordan Lynch.”    
  


Her eyes snap up. “Your last name. What relation do they think we are?” 

He sighed. This was clearly causing him stress- he was  _ worried _ about how she’d react. “I told them you’re my wife. I’m sorry, there’s no way around it, they want me to go, but I’m going to be wrangling the other agents to keep them off your trail and I can’t be in the direct interaction with Farooq-Lane. You don’t have to do anything but give her false information and act like it’s all true.” 

“I’m good at lying. Lying that I’m married to your sorry ass might be a stretch, but don’t worry about it.” He snorted a laugh, and she smiled. Working with him wasn’t as hard as she’d expected. 


End file.
